Compaq Computer Corporation
Fate	Acquired by HP; now an HP brand
Successor	Hewlett-Packard
Founded	February, 1982
Defunct	2002
Location	Houston, Texas, USA
Industry	PDA and Computer Hardware
Products	Presario desktops notebooks, iPAQ,and ProLiant Servers. A brand is a collection of Images and ideas representing an economic producer more specifically it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Typical PC hardware A typical Personal computer consists of a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop and the following parts Motherboard Presario is a series of Desktop computers and notebooks from HP. A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. This article is about the iPAQ PDA; for the iPAQ Desktop Personal Computer see IPAQ (desktop computer.
Key people	Rod Canion, Founder Jim Harris, Founder Bill Murto, Founder
Peak size	63,700 (2001) employees

Compaq Computer Corporation was an American personal computer company founded in 1982, and is now a brand name of Hewlett-Packard. Joseph Rodney Canion (born January 19, 1945) is an American computer scientist and businessman Jim Harris may refer to Jim Harris (writer (born 1957 author of A Bottle of Rain Jim Harris (illustrator/author (born Bill Murto co-founded Compaq with Jim Harris and Rod Canion in 1982, investing $1000 in the company The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated

The company was formed by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto — former Texas Instruments senior managers. Joseph Rodney Canion (born January 19, 1945) is an American computer scientist and businessman Jim Harris was one of the founders of Compaq Computer Corporation. Bill Murto co-founded Compaq with Jim Harris and Rod Canion in 1982, investing $1000 in the company Texas Instruments ( better known in the electronics industry (and popularly as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA The name "COMPAQ" was derived from "Compatibility and Quality", as at its formation Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers. IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT.

Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world^[1], Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it merged with Hewlett-Packard.

History

1980s

Early Compaq logo, used on the Compaq Portable.

Compaq was founded in February 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, three senior managers from semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments. Joseph Rodney Canion (born January 19, 1945) is an American computer scientist and businessman Jim Harris was one of the founders of Compaq Computer Corporation. Bill Murto co-founded Compaq with Jim Harris and Rod Canion in 1982, investing $1000 in the company Texas Instruments ( better known in the electronics industry (and popularly as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA Each invested $1,000 to form the company. Their first venture capital came from Ben Rosen and Sevin Rosen Funds. Sevin Rosen Funds (SRF is a Venture capital firm that was established in 1980 by L Like many small startups with unique beginnings, the original Compaq PC was first sketched out on a placemat by the founders while dining in a local Houston restaurant, House of Pies.

Two key marketing executives in Compaq's early years, Jim D'Arezzo and Sparky Sparks, had come from IBM's PC Group. Other key executives responsible for the company's meteoric growth in the late 80s and early 90s were Ross A. Cooley, another former IBMer, who served for many years as SVP and GM North America; Michael Swavely, who was the company's chief marketing officer in the early years, and eventually ran the North America organization, later passing along that responsibility to Mr. Cooley, when Swavely retired. In the United States, Brendan A. "Mac" McLoughlin (another long time IBM executive) lead the company's field sales organization after starting up the Western U. S. Area of Operations. These gifted executives, along with other key contributors, including Kevin Ellington, Douglas Johns, Steven Flannigan, and Gary Stimac, helped the company surpass the IBM Corporation in all personal computer sales categories, after many predicted that none could compete with the behemoth.

Compaq Portable

Compaq Portable

In November 1982 Compaq announced their first product, the Compaq Portable, a portable IBM PC compatible personal computer. The Compaq Portable was the first product in the Compaq portable series to be commercially available under the Compaq Computer Corporation brand. The Compaq Portable was the first product in the Compaq portable series to be commercially available under the Compaq Computer Corporation brand. IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated It was released in March 1983 at $2995, considerably more affordable than competitors at the time. The Compaq Portable was one of the progenitors of today's laptop. A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. It was the second IBM PC compatible, being capable of running all software that would run on an IBM PC. It was a commercial success, selling 53,000 units in its first year. The Compaq Portable was the first in the range of the Compaq Portable series. Compaq 's first computers were portable 'lunchbox' or 'luggable' computers and as such belong to the Compaq Portable series. Compaq was able to market a legal IBM clone because IBM mostly used "off the shelf" parts for their PC. International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology Furthermore, Microsoft had kept the right to license the operating system to other computer manufacturers. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer MS-DOS (short for M icro' s' oft D isk O perating S ystem is an Operating system commercialized by Microsoft. The only part which had to be duplicated was the BIOS, which Compaq did legally by using clean room reverse engineering for $1 million. In Computing, the BIOS (ˈbaɪoʊs Clean room design (also known as the Chinese wall technique is the method of copying a design by Reverse engineering and then recreating it without infringing ^[2][3][4] Phoenix Technologies were the first to follow their lead, but soon "clone BIOSes" were available from several vendors. Phoenix Technologies Ltd ( is a creator of computer BIOS software

Deskpro

On June 28th 1984 Compaq Released the Compaq Deskpro, a 16-bit desktop computer using an Intel 8086 microprocessor running at 7. The 8086 is a 16-bit Microprocessor chip designed by Intel and introduced on the market in 1978 which gave rise to the X86 architecture 14 MHz. It was considerably faster than an IBM PC and was, like the Compaq Portable, also capable of running IBM software. The Compaq Portable was the first product in the Compaq portable series to be commercially available under the Compaq Computer Corporation brand. This was the first of the Compaq Deskpro line of computers. The Compaq Deskpro was a line of business-oriented Personal computers manufactured by Compaq, discontinued after the merger with

Deskpro 386

When in 1986 Compaq introduced the first PC based on Intel's new 80386 microprocessor, the Compaq Deskpro 386,^[5] they began a period of increasing performance leadership over IBM, who were not yet using this processor. An IBM machine eventually reached the market seven months later, but by that time Compaq was the 386 supplier of choice and IBM had lost its image of technical leadership.

Systempro

This technical leadership and the rivalry with IBM was emphasised when the Systempro server was launched in late 1989 - this was a true server product with standard support for a second CPU and RAID, but also the first product to feature the EISA bus which was designed in reaction to IBM's MCA (MicroChannel Architecture). The SystemPro from Compaq was arguably the first true PC based server RAID — which stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks,or alternatively Redundant Array of Independent Disks (a less specific name and thus now the The Extended Industry Standard Architecture (in practice almost always shortened to EISA and frequently pronounced "eee-suh" is a bus standard for IBM compatible Micro Channel Architecture (in practice almost always shortened to MCA) was a proprietary 16- or 32-bit parallel Computer bus

1990s

At the same time as they began to dominate the server market, in the early 1990s Compaq entered the retail computer market with the Presario, and was one of the first manufacturers in the mid-1990s to market a sub-$1000 PC. Presario is a series of Desktop computers and notebooks from HP. In order to maintain the prices it wanted, Compaq became the first first-tier computer manufacturer to utilize CPUs from AMD and Cyrix. Cyrix was a CPU manufacturer that began in 1978 in Richardson Texas as a specialist supplier of high-performance math co-processors for 286 and The price war resulting from Compaq's actions ultimately drove numerous competitors, most notably IBM and Packard Bell, from this market. International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology Packard Bell is a name used by two different consumer electronics companies

In 1997, Compaq bought Tandem Computers, known for their NonStop server line. Tandem Computers was an early manufacturer of Fault-tolerant computer systems, marketed to the growing number of Transaction processing customers who used them for NonStop servers are a line of Fault-tolerant computer systems, optimized for transaction processing and providing an extreme level of availability and data integrity This acquisition instantly gave Compaq a presence in the higher end business computing market. In 1998, Compaq acquired Digital Equipment Corporation, the leading company in the previous generation of minicomputers during the 1970s and early 1980s. Digital Equipment Corporation was a pioneering American company in the Computer industry A minicomputer (colloquially mini) is a class of multi-user Computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum in between the largest Multi-user This acquisition made Compaq, at the time, the second largest computer maker in the world in terms of revenue. Unfortunately for the company, CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer, who engineered both mergers, had little vision for what the combined companies should do, or indeed how the three dramatically different cultures could work as a single entity, and Compaq struggled as a result. Eckhard Pfeiffer (born August 20, 1941 in Lauban Germany —now Lubań, Poland) is a business executive of German ancestry Pfeiffer was forced out as CEO in 1999 in a coup led by board chairman Ben Rosen and was succeeded by Michael Capellas, who had been serving as Compaq's CIO. Michael David Capellas (born August 19, 1955 in Warren, Ohio)has been the Chairman and Capellas was able to restore some of the luster lost in the latter part of the Pfeiffer era, but the company still struggled against lower-cost competitors such as Dell. The multinational technology company Dell Inc develops manufactures sells and supports Personal computers and other computer-related products

During November 1999, Compaq began to work with Microsoft to create the first in a line of small-scale, web-based computer systems called MSN Companions. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer The MSN Companion was a small-scale personal computer terminal that was designed for easy access to MSN services on the Internet such as Hotmail ^[6]

Merger with HP

A HP Compaq computer and a HP Deskjet 5740 printer owned by the Houston Independent School District; HP gained Compaq's contract with Houston ISD and took over Compaq's role in the contract. The Houston Independent School District (HISD is the largest Public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States.

In 2001, Compaq engaged in a merger with Hewlett-Packard. Numerous large HP shareholders, including William Hewlett, publicly opposed the deal, which resulted in an impassioned public proxy battle between those for and against the deal. William Redington Hewlett ( May 20, 1913 &ndash January 12, 2001) was the co-founder with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard

The merger was approved only after the narrowest of margins, and allegations of vote buying (primarily involving an alleged last-second back-room deal with Deutsche Bank) haunted the new company. Deutsche Bank AG (literally "German Bank" ˈdɔɪtʃə,) is an international Universal bank with a broad private clients franchise headquartered in

It was subsequently disclosed that HP had retained Deutsche Bank's investment banking division in January 2002 to assist in the merger. HP had agreed to pay Deutsche Bank $1 million guaranteed, and another $1 million contingent upon approval of the merger. On August 19, 2003, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission charged Deutsche Bank with failing to disclose a material conflict of interest in its voting of client proxies for the merger and imposed a civil penalty of $750,000. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (commonly known as the SEC) is an independent agency of the United States government which holds primary responsibility Deutsche Bank consented without admitting or denying the findings. ^[7]

Before the merger, Compaq's ticker symbol was CPQ. A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a Mnemonic used to uniquely identify publicly-traded shares of a Corporation on a particular Stock market This was melded with Hewlett-Packard's previous symbol (HWP) to create the current symbol of HPQ.

Post merger

Capellas left the company after serving less than a year as President of HP to become CEO of MCI Worldcom, leading it to be purchased by Verizon. MCI Communications Corp was an American Telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T "Verizon" redirects here this article is about the corporation see also Verizon Wireless, Verizon Online DSL and Verizon FiOS. Carly Fiorina, the Chairman and CEO of HP, added Capellas's responsibilities to her own. Carleton "Carly" Sneed Fiorina (born Cara Carleton Sneed on September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman

Fiorina helmed HP for nearly three years after Capellas left. HP laid off thousands of former Compaq, DEC, HP, and Tandem employees,^{[8] [9]} its stock price generally declined and profits did not perk up. Though the merger initially made it the number one PC maker, it soon lost the lead and further market share to Dell. The multinational technology company Dell Inc develops manufactures sells and supports Personal computers and other computer-related products In addition, the merging of stagnant Compaq with HP's lucrative printing and imaging division was criticized as that overshadowed the latter's profitability. In February 2005, the Board of Directors ousted Fiorina. Former Compaq CEO Capellas was mentioned by some as a potential successor, but several months afterwards, Mark Hurd was hired as CEO. Mark V Hurd is the chairman Chief executive officer, and president of Hewlett-Packard.

In late 2005, HPQ seemed to find its feet under the new leadership of Mark Hurd. At this same time Dell seemed to be faltering and HPQ took back the #1 sales position. Hurd separated the PC division from the imaging and printing division. HP's PC segment has since been reinvigorated and now generates more revenue than the traditionally more profitable printers.

Most Compaq products have been re-branded with the HP nameplate, such as the company's market leading ProLiant server line, while the Compaq brand remains on only some consumer-orientated products, notably Compaq Presario PCs. HP's business computers line was deprecated in favour of the Compaq Evo line, which was rebranded HP Compaq. HP's Jornada PDAs were replaced by Compaq iPAQ PDAs, which were renamed HP iPAQ.

In May of 2007, HP in a press release announced a new logo for their Compaq Division to be placed on the new model Compaq Presarios. ^[10]

Sponsorship

Compaq sponsored Queens Park Rangers Football Club from 1994 to 1996, during their most recent two seasons as a Premier League club. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English football club, based in Shepherds Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London The Premier League, colloquially referred to as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs Compaq sponsored Bradford Bulls Rugby League club from 1996 to 1998. The Bradford Bulls are a professional Rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, England.

Compaq also sponsored the Williams team in Formula One. Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967

Two sports stadiums were named after the company:

• The Compaq Center, of Houston, Texas, formerly The Summit, until its sports teams moved to the Toyota Center. The Lakewood Church Central Campus is a house of worship in Houston Texas. Toyota Center is the name of several arenas in the United States Toyota Center (Houston in Houston Texas is home to the Houston Rockets Toyota The building became the new home of Lakewood Church, one of the largest Protestant congregations in the United States. Lakewood Church is a Non-denominational Christian Megachurch located in Houston, Texas, United States. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
• The Compaq Center at San Jose, later renamed the HP Pavilion when HP purchased Compaq. The HP Pavilion at San Jose, formerly known as Compaq Center at San Jose and San Jose Arena is an Indoor arena located at 525 West Santa Clara Street in

Competitors

HP Compaq competes against other computer manufacturers including Dell, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba among others. The multinational technology company Dell Inc develops manufactures sells and supports Personal computers and other computer-related products Acer Incorporated ( ( is a Taiwanese multinational electronics manufacturer Lenovo Group Limited (,) is China's largest and the world's fourth largest Personal computer manufacturer after Hewlett-Packard and Dell of the U ( is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Originally the company competed against IBM, making affordable IBM PC compatibles often cheaper and faster than the IBM alternative. International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Lenovo, which purchased IBM's personal computer business in 2005, is a new competitor, especially in the People's Republic of China where it was founded. Lenovo Group Limited (,) is China's largest and the world's fourth largest Personal computer manufacturer after Hewlett-Packard and Dell of the U Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES

See also

• Compaq Portable series
• List of computer system manufacturers

References

External links

• Compaq official website
• Compaq company history (hp.com via archive.org)
• HP-Compaq merger (washingtontechnology.com)